Rocket is an Italian word: the first 'rocchette' rockets were shot during Venice Carnival in the 13th Century. Apart from the great scientific tradition of Galileo, Giordano Bruno, Enrico Fermi, Ettore Majorana, Giovanni Schiaparelli, Italy - after World War II - played a key role in cosmic exploration. It was the third country after USSR and USA to launch a satellite named San Marco and it kept on launching from a sea platform in the mid Eighties. Italy is the European country with the highest number of astronauts and the 54% of International Space Station modules are made in Italy. The exploration of space is a priority for Italian industry and its Space Agency that is actively collaborating to for Moon and Mars exploration.